How My March On The Florida State Capital In 1980 and Amber Guyger Are Connected

 

 Amber Guyger

I recall marching on the state capital in Tallahassee, Fl when I was a student at Florida A&M University 39 years ago after a group of police officers were acquitted in the death of Black ex-Marine and salesman Arthur McDuffie, who they chased as he rode a motorcycle through the streets of Miami, Fl. It was December 1979 when McDuffie died from what the police said were injuries from a motorcycle crash.

During a trial that was moved to Tampa, Fl, a cop at the scene stated McDuffie was beaten to death with flashlights, fists and police batons by the officers that were chasing him. Testimony from a cooperating officer stated McDuffie’s motorcycle was ran over by a squad car to damage it so it appeared to have been in a crash. An all-White jury in Tampa acquitted the officers of all charges related to McDuffie’s death on May 17, 1980 and Miami exploded into riots that resulted in 18 deaths, hundreds of injuries and arrests. Over $100 million of damage occurred in Miami.

Blackphobia - Bluephobia - Police Race and Rage in America

Tallahassee, Fl is 483 miles and 0 miles from Miami, Fl because many students attending Florida A&M were from Miami. After the acquittal verdicts the campus and Black community was wound tight as a drum and ready to explode. Someone ran to each apartment door where I lived off-campus and knocked to let everyone know that the police officers got away with killing a Black man and a March on the capital was scheduled.

Florida A&M was a powder keg with a lit fuse. Bob Graham, the then Governor of Florida, came and gave a speech at Lee Hall, but was almost booed off stage.

Tempers cooled down with time and I left Florida A&M in December of 1980 having completed my 4 years course of study in Marketing. Some 39 years later I got to witness Amber Guyger, a White female police officer get convicted of murder for killing her neighbor while he sat in his apartment because she said she thought it was her own.

Has everything changed since the Miami riots, no, but Guyger is going to prison for what she did to Botham Jean.

Amber Guyger Killed Black Man - Mohammed Noor Killed White Woman

Amber Guyger                Mohammed Noor

White off-duty Dallas, TX policewoman, Amber Guyger, walked to an apartment door in the building where she lived, opened that door and shot a Black man, Botham Jean, who was the resident of the rental unit. Guyger said she thought she was at her own apartment and perceived Botham Jean as an intruder inside her home.

Black on-duty Minneapolis, MN policeman, Mohammed Noor, was sitting in his police cruiser with his partner while responding to a report of a possible sexual assault turned in by Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a White woman. Noor stated a loud noise startled him and his partner just before Damond approached the car window. Noor stated he saw Damond raise her arms, perceived her as a threat and shot her through the window of the car and killed her. Damond died outside her home.

The tale of two cops, one male and Black, and the other, female and White, come about as close as you can get to answering the question of would a Black male policeman killing an innocent White woman in her home get as light of a sentence as the 10 years Amber Guyger got for killing Botham Jean in his apartment while he was eating ice cream and watching a football game. Think about the contrast. Botham Jean was obviously shaken when someone stepped into his apartment unexpectedly and shot him shortly thereafter. Now imagine that you called the police about a possible sexual assault and walked out to meet your possible rescuers and one of them shot you through the squad car window. Two innocent civilians ended up dead at the hands of people sworn to protect and serve them. Race was a flashpoint in the trials of both Noor and Guyger, but from opposite ends of the racial spectrum. White outrage demanded Noor be held accountable for killing Damond and Black outrage and frustration demanded Guyger not get what was perceived as White privilege treatment in whatever conviction and sentence she ultimately received.

Blackphobia - Bluephobia

Both Noor and Guyger were found guilty of murder. Many Blacks felt Noor was found guilty due to his race as many White officers charged with unwarranted deaths of Blacks walked free. Many of all races were shocked that Guyger was found guilty of murder in-spite of her race and some Blacks felt a kind of vindication for all those times White police officers did not serve time after killing minorities even when it was caught on camera. Rejoicing over Guyger's murder conviction turned to rage in the Black community when the jury gave her a 10 year prison sentence and cries of White privilege rang out. Anger ensued when the judge in Noor's trial gave him a 12.5 year sentence that some in Black community thought was too harsh.

For those asking if a Black male police officer would have received a similar sentence as Amber Guyger need to take the case of Mohammed Noor into consideration. Noor received 2.5 years more in prison for killing a White woman who he was dispatched to protect and Amber Guyger got 10 years for killing her Black male neighbor that she said was a mistake due to thinking she was at her own apartment.

Were these cases of Black and White justice or shades of gray?